Serves
2
Preparation Time
20 mins
Cooking Time
50 mins
| Ingredients | |
| Prawns | 500g |
| For the marinade: | |
| Garlic cloves, finely chopped | 4 |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 1 Tbsp |
| Black Pepper | 1/2 Tsp |
| For cooking: | |
| Salt | 1/2 Tsp |
| Olive Oil | 1.5 Tbsp |
| Unsalted Butter | 50g |
| Dry White Wine | 1/4 cup |
| Lemon juice | 2 Tbsp |
| For serving: | |
| Finely Chopped Parsley | |
| Lemon Wedges & bread | |
Simple and delicious
Prawns marinated in garlic is a go-to for people who want to serve a delicious meal but do not have the time to spare. Garlic marinated prawns do not need too many ingredients but what does matter is that you get the freshest ingredients possible.
The Pickled Crab Day Boat Fishmonger is the best place to get the freshest seafood from the most sustainable sources. Their suppliers use day boats instead of trawlers, ensuring that they do minimal damage to the environment while still getting the freshest prawns to your plate.
Once you’ve received your order of prawns (Psst! Order a bottle of wine from The Pickled Crab to complete the meal!), the next thing you need to do is cook!
Method
- 1. In a bowl, marinate the prawns in garlic, olive oil and pepper. Toss the mixture gently and set it aside for 20 minutes. Just before cooking, add the salt and mix through.
- 2. Heat the olive oil and 1/3 of the butter over high heat. Use a large, heavy-based frying pan. When the butter is melted, cool the prawns in batches.
- 3. Sear the prawns for one minute on each side. You can tell if the prawns are ready if they are lightly golden pink.
- 4. Once they are all seared return them to the pan and add wine. Sizzling and steam are normal. Toss the prawns and wine while scraping the bottom of the pan; the wine will evaporate after about half a minute.
- 5. Once you reduce the wine, scatter the remaining butter across the pan and add lemon juice. Once the butter melts, give the entire mixture a few stirs and remove the pan from the stove.
- 6. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish it with parsley. Serve this dish together with bread and extra lemon wedges.
Things To Remember
- If using frozen prawns, thaw and drain them to remove excess moisture. If not, the prawns will not fry to a crisp golden brown, and they will just become watery in the pan. Pat them dry using paper towels once you finish cooking.
- If you are using fresh or whole prawns, get one kilogram; when peeled, prawns weigh about half of their market weight. Get your produce from local grocers, to ensure that you get the freshest shrimp or prawns possible.
- If you are counting calories, you can skip the butter in step number five. Although this gives the dish more flavour and creates more sauce, the prawns will still taste great without it. The secret is in the fresh ingredients and the wine.
- When choosing wine, get a dry white wine. Adding wine gives an edge to the flavour, so do not eliminate this step. If you cannot have alcohol, use chicken or vegetable stock.
- Chop the garlic by hand and do not use a mincer. When you do, it makes fine pieces susceptible to burning at high heat. Also, cook in batches. If you crowd the pan, the moisture will cause the prawns to stew instead of sear, and you will not get charring on the prawns.
- When you use oil and butter together, as in this recipe, you prevent the butter from burning. Also, do not add too much salt for prawn-based dishes, since these are naturally salty.
- Prawns hang straight when raw and curl up when cooked. A perfectly cooked prawn will be in a “C” shape, while an overcooked one will coil in an “O” shape.
